CVG fliers and Frontier: Low-budget love at first sight

Oct. 7, 2013

A cargo jet is set for takeoff at the DHL hub at CVG. / The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy

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Columnist is back in business

This is my first byline in The Enquirer since taking some time off to care for my newborn daughter, who was born in July. I was so blessed to have 2½ months to get to know every smile, cry, coo and funny face she makes. And now I’m glad to be back in the saddle at The Enquirer, resuming my role as NKY columnist. In some ways it seems not much has changed while I was gone: Tolls still appear as inevitable as ever for the Brent Spence Bridge replacement. The region’s heroin epidemic rages on. But, pleasantly, the overhaul of southbound I-471 is nearly finished. Out at CVG, the success of low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines has exceeded expectations. And some exciting times are ahead: The long-awaited expansion of Ky. 9 will open up west Newport and greatly improve transportation to and from the urban core. The Kentucky Legislature will pass a state budget for the next two years in 2014, and we’ve also got some pretty important national and local elections coming up. I won’t say that becoming a mother has changed how I do my job, but it has made me more mindful of the responsibility that we all bear to make our community a better place in whatever way we can. I hope you’ll join me in helping to make that happen. Amanda Van Benschoten

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HEBRON — When Frontier Airlines launched service at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport five months ago, I posed the following question to readers: “Will Greater Cincinnati residents ante up and support a low-cost carrier like Frontier?”

Boy, did they.

Frontier’s daily flight from CVG to Denver has averaged 95 percent full, as The Enquirer reported last month, and the company doubled its profit during its first month here, exceeding even its own expectations.

And then last week came more good news for CVG: The number of local passengers flying out of the airport has increased over last year for six consecutive months. That’s significant because it means the local community’s support for CVG is growing.

After years of declining flights, dwindling passenger traffic and several failed experiments by other low-cost carriers, Frontier has shown that a low-cost carrier can succeed – and make a profit – here. And that is terrific news for the average business or leisure traveler, because where one carrier can make money, others are likely to follow.

“I think we’re going to see more positive movement next year as well,” said airport board member Nathan Smith. “Other airlines are going to be looking at how Frontier is doing here and thinking they could be successful here as well.”

Airport CEO Candace McGraw said Frontier has had a “huge impact” on the airport, both in driving up local passenger traffic and in driving down fares offered by other carriers.

Of course, Frontier still needs to do well here over the next seven months or so, now that the busy summer travel season has ended. But airport officials are encouraged by the company’s early success.

“I do think it’s an indication the community wants the airport to be successful,” McGraw said.

Much of the credit goes to the local travelers who have opened their wallets, packed their bags and filled Frontier’s flights during the past five months – and McGraw hopes they keep doing so, because a strong local passenger base will help the airport attract additional low-cost carriers.

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But no less important to the airport’s present and its future is the tremendous impact of DHL and its rapidly-growing air cargo hub.

Since returning to CVG from Wilmington, Ohio, in 2009, the company has added hundreds of employees and hundreds of thousands of square feet, and DHL leaders have hinted at even more expansion on the horizon.

Air cargo traffic at CVG is up 10 percent over last year, and cargo now accounts for a whopping 47 percent of the airport’s landed weight – a key stat because every airline pays landing fees based on the weight of each plane that touches the ground.

The increased revenue from air cargo landing fees allows CVG to keep those fees low for passenger airlines, a big competitive advantage. The stability of the DHL hub also helps ease the minds of passenger airlines thinking about making an investment here.

Other promising signs at CVG: the success of Ultimate Air Shuttle since launching service just a month ago, the addition of flights by US Airways and Delta Air Lines the past year or two, and the re-timing of some Delta flights to the West Coast to accommodate business travelers.

After spending the past several years laying the groundwork for precisely this moment, airport officials believe the recent successes are the first of many.

McGraw is “very optimistic” that air service will continue to grow at CVG during the next 12 months. The airport also plans to begin developing hundreds of acres of land it owns near the newly opened Aero Parkway, which has provided access to the land for the first time.

(And, for what it’s worth, McGraw said recent reports of friction between airport staff and the board won’t affect any of those plans: “We’re moving right ahead with things.”)

As CVG goes, so goes the region. But if local fliers keep opening their wallets for Frontier and other carriers, both will continue on an upward trajectory. ■